Tube bending machine



June 6, 1950 a. E. LUCE 2,510,183

' TUBE BENDING MACHINE Filed April 16, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.George E. Luce After-Hays 2 Sheets-Sheet '2 G. E. LUCE TUBE SENDINGMACHINE June: 6, 1950 Filed April 16, 1948 g BE:

JNVENTOR. Geo/ye F. Luce N NM Z 3 Afzarneys Patented June 6, 1950 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE TUBE BENDING MACHINE GcorgeE. Luce, Fort Valley,Ga. Application April 16, 1948, Serial No. 21,485

6 Claims.

This invention relates to tube bending unachines. 7

An object of the invention is the provision of a machine for bendingtubes to form rectangular frames in which grooved rolls are mounted atthe 1 shifting the rollers away from the associated rolls to permit theapplication of the tube, simultaneous oscillation ofthe arms beingeffected through the medium of a power driven device. 1 1

A further object of the invention is the provision of a machine forbending tubes into rectangular frames in which a power driven devicemoves a grooved roller around a roll for forming a bend in the tubingwhile manual means is employed for shifting the roller away from anassociatedroll during the application of the tubin or a section of thetubin to a roll, a roll and associated roller being employed for eachbend at a corner of a frame to be manufactured, arms carrying therollers through an arc of approximately ninety degrees during thebending operation. The power driven device includes a hydraulicallyactuated piston for operating a plurality of cranks which are rigid withthe respective arms carrying the rollers.

' The invention is best understood from a consideration of the followingdetailed description in connection withthe accompanyi drawings formingpart of the specification, nevertheless, i'tis to be understood thattheinvention is not confined to the disclosure but is susceptible ofsuch'changes and modifications as shall define no material departurefrom the salient features of the invention as expressed in the appendedclaims;

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a' table with parts broken away showing mytube bending machine supported thereby, w 1

Figure 2 is a transverse vertical section of the machine and table takenalong the line 2-2 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a longitudinal side view of the machine and table with partsbroken away, and

Figures 4, 5 and 6 show more or less diagramma ical y three of the staes of the operations I of mytube bending 2, machine and the relativepositions of the operative elements.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, to designates a table topwhich is supported by angle iron legs ll, l2 and I3. 'An electric motorI4 is set in operation by a switch I5 for driving a hydraulic pump I6.The motor and pump are mounted on a bracket I1 secured to the leg II.

A cylinder has a closed outer end provided with ears 2! pivoted at 22 ona plate 23 depending from the under face of the top H). The cylinder isdisposed centrally and longitudinally of the table. The inner end of thecylinder 20 is closed except for a central passage which receives apiston rod 25 and may be supported by a bracket (not shown) dependingfrom the under face of the top H). A pipe 26 connects the inner end ofthe cylinder with the pump l6 while a pipe 21 connects the rear or outerend of said cylinder with the pump, A valve operating rod 28, whenreciprocated, controls a valve (not shown) within the pump for cuttingoff the flow of a fluid to one of the pipes 26 or 21 while releasing thefluid to the other pipe. Thus, a piston 29 in the cylinder 2,5 willreciprocate the rod 25 in opposite direction depending upon the flow ofthe fluid in the pipes. The valve (not shown) in the pump may be of theconventional type for controlling .the flow. of fluids to and from thepump to the ends of the cylinder. A crosshead 30 is disposedtransverselyof the table ID at the under face thereof and connected to areciprocating bar 3!. allel to crosshead 30 is secured to said crossheadby braces 33. A bracket 34 attached to and depending from the bar 3| has.pivoted connections at 35 with the piston rod 25. Parallel links 36 areattachedpivotally at 31 to the ends l8 of the bar 32. The outer ends 19of said links 36 have pivotalconnections at 39 with the outer ends .ofassociated arms or cranks 40. All of the links I3, bars 3| and arms 40just described are disposed below the table top [0.

. Links. 4|. are pivoted at 42 on the ends 24 of the crosshead 30. Anarm 43 each is pivotally' connected to the outer end 38 of each link 4|asshown at 44. An axle 45 rises from the free end, 41 of each arm 43 towhich'is secured the irmer. end 48 of an arm 46. The connected arms 43and.

46 form in effect a bell crank generally indicated.

at 49. V A grooved r011 50 is mounted on each axle 45 and is disposed ina horizontal plane. A grooved roller 5| is mounted on an axle 52.carried by a. lever 53 and an end of a bracket 54. The other;

A cross-bar 32 pare end of the bracket is attached to the lever 53 by abolt 55 which is secured to the arm 46 and which forms a pivot for saidlever. A handle provides a manual means for rocking the levers 53. Itwill be noted from Figure 3, that the grooves in the rolls 50 and therollers 5| are semi-circular in cross-section so that the space 58between a roll and a roller is substantially circular for receivingneatly a piece of tubing 60, Figures 1 and 4 to 5, inclusive.

The arm-40 is connected to an arm or crank BI and these connected armsform a bell crank.

An axle 62 rises from the arm 40 and joins the inner ends of the arms 40and 6| for. rotatably supporting a roll 63 having a peripheral grooveidentical with that shown in roll 50:01? Figures 2 and 3. A roller 64identical with that shown at 5| in Figure 3 is mounted on an axle 65.This roller has a peripheral groove which cooperateswith the groove inthe roll 63 to receive neatly the pipevfifl. A bolt fili pivots alever 61 on the arm 6| and cooperates withthe axle 65 for securing alsupporting bracket'68' for the roller 64 on said lever. A handle 69rocks the lever 61 outwardly for example, on each arm 6| to the positionindicated in broken lines at 51.

An eccentric disk 10 is pivoted on a bolt 1| secured-to the-table topll. A handle 12 isadaptedto rock the disk 1|! for pressing against thepipe 60 when said pipe is being bent and for retaining it in the groovesof the rolls.

The valve actuating rod 28 is secured to a reciprocative rod 15 byamember 76., The rod 15 is mounted in a guide 11 fixed to the leg Alever 18 pivoted at 19 on ears projecting from said leg is connectedat80 with the outer free end of the rod 15 for reciprocating said rod.

:Spaced stops 8| and 82 are 'adjustably secured to therod and each stopcarries a spring 83 adapted to be engaged by a horizontal portionofa-bar 184 whichhas a vertical portion 85 secured rigidly to thedepending bracket 3.4. The stops limit the inward and outward movementsofjthe piston. inthe cylinder 20 whilethe springs 83cushion the pistonand the piston rod at the'cends of the strokes of said piston. Sincetherlever 18 operates the rod :75randlikewise the valveoperating means28 for controlling the flow of i'fiuidatocthe opposite ends of thecylinder :20, the stops BI and 82 will be shifted in accordance withvarying positions of the piston 29.

Thezlegs of the table are braced. bylongitudinal bars 85 which aresecured to the pair ofnlegs l3 and .thepair :of legs H and 12. .Thetransverse barsBficonnectedbetween the pairs'of legs |3 and 2, l3alsosaid in stabilizing thelegs of the table;

The operation of-my machine is asufollows'z With thelelements of themachine shown in the variouspositions inFigures 1, 2 and 4, the levers 6are rocked to the dotted line position at 51 shown in Figure l so thatthe tubing 65 may be applied to the grooves in the rolls 63. The levers61' are then returned tooperative positions-shown in full lines, orrather positions a little outside the fullllinerpositions whereinrollers M are disp'osedin advance of the positions of arms 6|. Thetubing is then held in position in the grooves of the rolls 63 by thedisk 10 and cooperating rollers 64, the latter, due to their advancedpositions, being adapted to exert a pushing and bending action on tubing60 without danger of rollers M slipping inwardly past rolls 63 duringthe bending operation. At this time the valve actuating rod 28 is in aneutral position and fiuidpressure from the pump l6 has been cut-oil tothe cylinder 20.

The lever 18 is now moved in the direction indicated by the arrow A inFigure 3 so that the valve in the pump will be opened to the pipe 21 forsupplying fluid under pressure to the outer end of the cylinder 20,thereby causing the piston 29 to be moved inwardly for shifting thecrosshead 30 in the direction of the arrow B in Figure 1'. This actionrocks thepairs of" hell cranks which include the arms 61- and throughthe respective links 36 and 4| thereby carrying the respective levers 61and 53 to the positions indicated in Figure 5 from the positionillustrated in Figure 4. However, it must be borne in mind thatthe-levers 53 must be rocked to move the rollers 5| away from the rolls50 in order that the bent ends 50a of the tubing may be forced againstthe grooves in the rolls 50, spaces being thus provided between rollers5| and bending oll tu andet earmsfi eo r u ins fi ei siemporarily liftedover rollers 5| and their handles 5 and then lowe instub rm 6W o- .s ahe e ter r viin h arr s-9 Q1.1 ;5 th e-r9 1- rs 6 then ev lv a undl 5 41t part rotation of arms $6 1,. the tubing: isbent -Q The lever 1-8- werea th a te lnQYQ in t opp sitec i es qn ndie ted b th .-al= .-ew ls a throd-2, w swearr v s lq r tiqnze th v a e-12 th 9. 4 11 lan 1211 11 31126 conduc flui un e r su e- 2 he linea ise or t c linder?! lh e f ti th121 39 39 t wa e l s ree lim s-r1 l me he tll a msi a .cg tree-i 1 siton 9 l e in th P iQQS :Q Fi 6, the Precaut l t l p fiw P H K- JE QYW 83.5 P th y W i RPQS UQ a P1152 sec eenegfl neretien A h wn-i i ur the oflx with; .5 wi volv around therespective rolls.50 with rollers slightlyiniadvance 0f the l'atter for bending the sections are altright anglesto vthe sections a of the tubing about rollsJSll to f nally arrive atthe pos' t jen. ill e -t a .fije f u ,qwe l' tme the manufacture of therectangular frame of tube. Thea'rms 5| at this time have returned totheini't'i'al positions shownlin Figure .4. The various levers {61 .and'53 and the lever wer rocked in the proper outward directions and roll"-ers 5i and 54 swung or rotated clear of frames 61.6011. and BUCJand"rolls 5'lljandl6i3ancl'the arms 60a and the ends 'GU'c temporarilyexpandedland warped by hand and lifted to releasethefframe. The alve thepump is will be shifted to the neutral position so jt'hat'fthe machine,will be ready for succefedin'gbending'operations.

It willb'e noted that when t e rod 15- reoiproc'atefd the stops 8 and "SZ are shifted away from therod 84 "for setting the valve in the pump ina new'po'siti'on'. "Thus, Figure "3, the valve will be in a neutralposition, so that when the l'ever'1-8- is ro'cked in "the direction"in'di'oat e'dlby' of the tubing are bent by the bending fixtures orrollers 5| and 61 which may be moved "to inoperative positions by therespective levers-61 and 53 to permit the application of theintermediate portion of the tubing 50 to the -dies =63 and thebentsections 60a toithe dies 50. These levers also release the bendingfixtures for the removal of the completed frame so'that subsequenttubings may be applied to the bending machine. The frames are employedin the manufacture of chair seats.

What I claim: g

l. A mechanical movement for a bendingmachineand the like, including thecombination with a reciprocable drive means, a transverselyextendingcrosshead connected thereto'and reciprocated thereby, and a support forthe drive means and the crosshead, of a group of shafts rotabablymounted on said support in two pairs spaced apart and disposed inparallel relation, a pair of opposite and outwardly-projecting armsindividually secured on one pair of shafts, a second pair of oppositeand inwardly-projecting arms individually'secured on the other pair ofshafts, a pair of links pivotally connected to corresponding oppositeportions of the crosshead and to the outer ends of the first-mentionedpair of outwardly-projecting arms, and a second pair of links pivotallyconnected to other corresponding portions of the crosshead, said onepair of shafts being partly rotated in opposite directions to each otherand the second pair of shafts being simultaneously rotated individuallyin opposite directions with respect to the shafts on the same sides ofsaid reciprocating drive means.

2. A tube bending machine comprising a table, a plurality of groovedrolls rotatably mounted on the table, a roll located at each corner of aparallelogram, a pair of the rolls receiving an intermediate portion ofa tube to be bent, a bell-crank pivoted on the table adjacent each roll,a grooved roller on an arm of each bell crank, a crosshead,, meansconnecting the other arms of the bell crank with the crosshead, meansfor reciprocating the crosshead for rocking the bell crankssimultaneously, the arms carrying the rollers of one pair of the bellcranks extending in an opposite direction to that of a correspondingpair of arms of the other bell cranks so that one pair of arms will movethe associated rollers through an arc around the cooperating rolls forpushing and thereby bending portions of the tube when the crosshead isshifted in one direction, the other arms and associated rollers movingidly around the other rolls in an opposite direction for engagement withthe tube for pushing and thereby bending the ends of the tube inwardlytoward each other on the adjacent rolls when the crosshead is shifted inthe opposite direction during return movement of said one pair of armsand its associated rollers to initial idle positions.

3. A tube bending machine comprising a table, pairs of shafts spacedapart and carried by the tables, the shafts being so arranged that oneshaft is located at each corner of a rectangle, a bell crank secured toeach shaft, a grooved roll mounted on each shaft, the grooves in onepair of rolls receiving an intermediate portion of a tubing to be bent,a roller mounted on an arm of each bell crank and provided with aperipheral groove, one pair of the rollers cooperating with thefirst-mentioned one pair of rolls for pushing and thereby bendingportions of the tubing on said rolls when the bell cranks are rocked,the tubing being received between the grooves in the first-mentionedrolls and cooperating rollers, the roller-carrying arms of one pair ofbell cranks extending in an opposite direction to that of theroller-carrying arms of the other bell cranks,

means for rocking the bell cranks simultaneously in opposite directions,means connectin the other arms of the bell cranks with the rocking meansfor rocking the pairs of arms simultaneously in opposite directions, thementioned pairs of rollers alternately bending. portions of the tubingon the adjacently-disposed pairs of .rolls during rocking of the bellcranks in said opposite directions. I

'4. A tube bending machine comprising a-table, pairs of shafts spacedapart and carried by the table, the shafts being arranged so that oneshaft is located at each corner of a rectangle, a bell crank secured toeach shaft, a grooved roll mounted on each shaft, the grooves in onepair of .rolls receiving an intermediate portion of a tubingto be bent,a roller mounted on an'arm of each bell crank and provided with aperipheralgroove, one pair of the rollers cooperating with thefirstmentioned pair of'rolls for pushing and thereby bending portions ofthe tubing on said rolls when the bell cranks are rocked, the tubingbeing received between the grooves in the first-mentioned rolls andcooperating rollers, the roller-carrying arms of one pair of. bellcranks extending in an opposite direction to that of the roller-carryingarms of the other bell cranks, means for rocking the bell cranks inopposite directions, link means connecting the other arms of the bellcranks with the rocking means for rocking the mentioned pairs of armssimultaneously in opposite directions, the mentioned pairs of rollersalternately bending portions of the tubing on the adjacentlydisposedpairs of rolls during rocking of the bell cranks in opposite directions,and a freely rockable lever on each roller-carrying arm for supportingthe rollers, the levers when rocked moving the rollers away from theassociated rolls to provide clearances when a portion of the tubing isbeing applied to said rolls.

5. A tube bending machine comprising a table, pairs of shafts spacedapart and carried by the table, the shafts being arranged so that oneshaft is located at each corner of a rectangle, a bell crank secured toeach shaft, a grooved roll mounted on each shaft, the grooves in a pairof rolls receiving an intermediate portion of a tubing to be bent, aroller rotatably mounted on one arm of each bell crank and provided witha peripheral groove, one pair of the rollers cooperating with thefirst-mentioned pair of rolls for bending the tubing on said rolls whenthe bell cranks are rocked, the tubing being received between thegrooves in the first-mentioned rolls and cooperating rollers, theroller-carrying arms of one pair of bell cranks extending in an oppositedirection to that of the roller-carrying arms of the other bell cranks,means for rocking the bell cranks in opposite directions, link meansconnecting the other arms of the bell cranks with the rocking means forrocking the mentioned pairs of arms simultaneously in oppositedirections, the pairs of rollers alternately bending portions of thetubing on the adjacently-disposed pairs of rolls during rocking of thebell cranks in opposite directions, said rolls and roller-carrying armsbeing located above the table, and the of dies, a bending fixture foreach die, means,

moving a pair of the bending fixtures in opposite directions through anapproximate arc of swam momma dies to aim at pair at ifbm airintermediate" 'rtidm 6f the" tubing; mane-m1 m'c'iving the other airdf-be'n'dfng'fii wrest 111* opposite directiorrs'erouncta pnftiondfthe-periphery of we assd'ci'atd dies-so'th'at s'aid hst mhtl'one'd-fixtures wiir be in positiowtb' en: gage tlieflient portions" of thetubiiig; mea'n's foisirhultanebuslytactuating the pairs-of the movingmeans alternately in opposite directions'for causing one pair ofthe-fixtures to' bend pbr'tidnsof t-t'x' tubing" oni'ai'pair o'fth'associateddis while the other pair of fixtures is shiftedinbpefatively', the actuating m'ean-ca'usingreverse m'ovem'ents" oft-hefiicturs'so'that thelast mentiuned fixtures wm' 'bend the free portionsof the tube-while the 15 other" fixtureswill: be' moved ta inoperativepm"- tionsiand means for moving: the fixturesiin re= tractedwelationwith'the dies;

Number Name Date 324,230 Veit Aug.- 11, I885 957,200 Gail Y May 10, 1910mes-570. Groehn -7 July 1,1930 10 1;-'194-,-691- Houser Mar. 3; 19312,-414;926 Burke Jan. 28, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS- Ittiy v 0; 1 3,1.60,774" msrway Apr. 24, 1939

